Celtics plot future after moving down in draft lottery

The Celtics had hopes of climbing into the top three of the June 26 draft, but they went from No. 5 to No. 6 in the lottery on Tuesday night.

Jim Fenton The Enterprise @JFenton_ent

Looking for a positive spin to the Celtics’ latest disappointing trip to the NBA draft lottery?

After yet again missing out on prime position in next month’s draft by dropping one spot to No. 6, there was a time when they did strike it rich in that slot.

It was 1978 when Larry Bird was the sixth player chosen in the draft by Red Auerbach, and he wound up having a pretty good career in Boston.

Unfortunately for the rebuilding Celtics, however, they are not going to find anyone remotely resembling Bird with the sixth pick in the draft on June 26.

Instead of moving up into the top three to have a chance at Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins or Joel Imbiid, the Celtics went from No. 5 in the lottery to No. 6 in the draft Tuesday night in New York.

They will be settling for one of the second-tier players like Julius Randle, Noah Vonleh, Marcus Smart, Gary Harris or Aaron Gordon after the Cleveland Cavaliers, with a 1.7 percent chance of winning the lottery, swooped in and grabbed the No. 1 pick.

The Celtics, who could also use the pick in a trade, have not been fortunate in the draft lottery, and that certainly held true again after a season in which they won just 25 games.

The rebuilding process got a little bit harder when the Celtics fell to No. 6 instead of moving into the top three.

President of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who also has the No. 17 pick from the Brooklyn Nets, viewed the lottery from Los Angeles where he and other front-office personnel are watching draft workouts.

Ainge, knowing the best odds (34.2 percent) the Celtics had was falling to No. 6, was ready for what happened.

“We were all disappointed, but at the same time we were prepared for this,’’ said Ainge, speaking on a conference call shortly after the lottery. “We knew this was a strong possibility.

“It’s a momentary disappointment. You hope to get the lucky ball, but now we have some clarity and some marching orders.

“We were hopeful for something better, but the odds said that No. 6 was the most likely, so we’ve certainly been prepared for No. 6.’’

The Celtics, who had a 33.4 percent chance of getting into the top three, will begin bringing players to Waltham for workouts in early June, but Parker, Wiggins and Embiid won’t be visiting the team’s facility.

Ainge says there is no cornerstone player in the draft, but one of those three certainly would have put the Celtics on a faster track to get better.

Not having a top three selection also means the Celtics are without a valuable trade chip that could have been used in a package to get veteran help, like Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Celtics, who have also drafted Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer with the No. 6 pick, need “quality players,’’ noted Ainge, so the search will be on to find two of them in the first round if no trade is made.

“I think you can get a player that is capable of starting on an NBA team and being a starter on a winning team,’’ said Ainge. “We’ll have our options with a handful of guys.

“I think it’ll be a very difficult choice because I feel like there are some real projects and some guys who can be developed into good starting NBA players. But I don’t know if there’s any cornerstone.’’

Ainge indicated he might shop the draft pick around, a route he took in 2007 when the No. 5 choice (Jeff Green) went to the Seattle SuperSonics in the Ray Allen trade.

“I think the sixth pick has serious value,’’ he said. “How serious, I don’t know yet. We haven’t had a chance to talk about it or explore that.

“We’re in the same boat (as 2007). It just has less value. There is less value in the sixth pick than there is in the No. 1 or No. 2 or No. 3 picks. We will have to see what value that has around the league.’’

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.